Exploring the roles of the leading teachers and their leadership dimensions for improving students learning in primary schools of Maldives / Shiyama Hilmy

Abstract:

The school parents and educational institutions universally demand to inculcate students who are competent with knowledge, skills and values to prepare them to live in this challenging world, Therefore, enhancement of the roles and leadership dimensions of the leading teachers are vital as the improvement of the teaching and learning depend on the roles of the leading teachers. Hence, an exploratory case study was conducted to study the role of the leading teachers and their leadership dimensions for improving students' learning in primary schools.
A qualitative exploratory case study, informed by the interpretivist research paradigm, was used to discover the subject. Six leading teachers from two primary schools were purposefully selected. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews, review of the documents, and participant observations.
The findings of this study recognized three fundamental dimension which are interconnected to the role of the leading teachers and their leadership dimensions for improving the teaching and learning, leadership functions, leadership for transformation, and the challenges. Hence, leadership functions enable the leading teachers to work effectively with the teachers by controlling, leading, motivating, and sharing to provide qualitative education. The leadership for transformation enables the leading teachers to transform teaching through intellectual stimulations, individual considerations, inspirational motivations and idealized influence. therefore, the leadership functions and leadership for transformation enables the leading teachers to minimize the challenges to improve the teaching and learning, thus providing quality education.
To sum up, the study would be beneficial for the leading teachers and the senior management of the schools who are determined to provide a quality education. Therefore, research implications and areas for further research are identified that would inform the senior management of the school and the policy makers in the educational sector.